Customer Reviews

Coffee Date

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

At the urging of his brother, Barry (Jonathan Silverman), Todd (Jonathan Bray) makes a blind date with someone he had been chatting with online, courtesy of an ad placed by Barry. Once it has been established that they had not exchanged photos during their chats, most viewers can guess the first punchline of the movie ... that his date, Kelly, is actually a man (played by Wilson Cruz), since Barry had placed the ad for his romance-starved, straight brother in the "M4M" message board.

But "Coffee Date" (2006) ... whichw as based on a short film released at some gay film festivals in 2001 ... handles this seemingly simplistic slapstick-worthy plot with realism, warmth and humor, allowing Todd and Kelly to get to know each other, and find out that they have a lot of interests in common, before either one realizes that their elusive "date" is actually with each other. It also turns the joke around on the brother, when Todd brings Kelly home (and then he sneaks out the window, so Barry believes Todd spent the night with a man), which works too well, since Barry won't believe that Todd isn't really gay, and moves out of Todd's apartment. Barry also calls their mother, played to the hilt by veteran actress Sally Kirkland, who arrives for an extended visit with her "just out" son, proudly wearing a PFLAG t-shirt, and also refusing to give credence to Todd's claim that he is really straight. Meanwhile, Todd continues to go with Kelly (and occasionally his friends) to see a movie, have a drink or coffee, and when the office blabbermouth (Jason Stuart) sees Todd with a group of gay men, he "outs" him to everyone else at work, who accept and embrace the revelation. It gets to the point where Todd begins to doubt his own belief that he's not gay, but is afraid that the one way of finding out for sure could jeopardize his friendship with Kelly.

Excellent treatment of the "labels" people put on themselves (and have put upon them), which also makes good natured fun of some of the stereotypes straight people have about gays (and vice versa.) Ultimately, this is a light romantic comedy about friendship and defining "love" on different levels, with life lessons for people hung up on worrying about how they "should" feel in a situation. DVD extras include many deleted scenes, gag reel and a "making of" featurette. I give it a full 5 stars out of 5.

Coffee Date
Is an enjoyable light hearted comedy about the boundaries of friendship, sex and human compassion.
Wilson Cruz is at his charming best as a Kelly who has an internet relationship with another man and they have everything in common BUT one thing. Cruz's character is a gay male with a sexually ambiguous name "Kelly" so Todd whom he is talking to via the internet is not aware that he is male or gay and Todd is straight.
Todd is wonderfully played by Jonathan Bray also very charming in this role.
What happens after they meet for their Coffee Date is both funny and thought provoking.
It's a gay themed movie but anyone can enjoy it because it doesn't have a one viewed perspective on any of the situations.
Jonathan Silverman as Todd's room mate/ brother lends to the comedic flow as well.
My advice is buy it because it's a movie you will watch more than once..

You'll need to suspend your common sense a little in the first couple of scenes, otherwise there's no way to get this particular straight and gay man together. Discovering that they've a lot in common, they become friends, then chaos ensures. Everyone starts to think that Todd is gay, even Todd starts to think that he might be gay.
It's a very nicely written and played comedy. The 2 main leads Wilson Cruz and Jonathan Bray are excellent but the mother and brother are over the top; their performance spoils this otherwise charming story.

Its nice to see gay indie films with heart. Its also nice to see 2 of the top gay actors play gay characters in a gay film. Wilson Cruz is so hot and sexy, that you hardly rmemeber him from MY SO CALLED LIFE. Jason Stuart best know for doing stand up is just perfect as the office no it all. He also has a scene in the break room that shows he has the talent to break out as an great character actor. And lets not forget the wonderfully talented Elaine Hendrix as "Bonnie". these 3 actors blew me a way.

What struck me about this wonderful comedy is the depiction of a warm and respectful relationship between a gay man, Kelly (Wilson Cruz) and a straight man, Todd (Jonathan Bray). Despite the growing confusion of Todd's sexual preference, they are building a deep friendship while exploring their sexual roles and finding common ground. I have not seen this type of relationship depicted in gay films before. "Coffee Date" is a charming and sensitive film with fun dialogue and situations. Well-cast and directed.

Since others have described the plot of this film I won't waste time doing it again. I'll just give a few thoughts on what works about it and what doesn't. It definitely has its sporadic charm in more than a few scenes. The actors are quite good, possibly with the exception of Jonathan Silverman, who just wasn't all that credible as the homophobic brother turned full fledged homo. Wilson Cruz and Jonathan Bray were perfectly cast as the gay and straight men caught in a relationship that's misunderstood by everyone around them - the chemistry between them is great! Sally Kirkland is fantastic! It's nice to see her again. She's always had a penchant for playing slightly loopy, clueless characters and doesn't disappoint here. The problem with the film it that halfway through it begins to feel like a broken record. I felt as if I was seeing the same gag over and over again and it got a little tiring. The film also seemed too long. It could easily have been tightened with the removal of a good 10-minutes. But the film's flaws are overshadowed by its charm and sincerity. You'll laugh more than once. Watch it with your honey.

I don't know what the reviewer "Gordon Larko" is smoking. For some eason, he feels compelled to leave the EXACT SAME horrible review and 1 STAR rating for all GAY-THEMED movies. Probably a "personal problem" of his. Hopefully this review will help correct this imbalance. I can't believe AMAZON is allowing this GAY BASHER to use their website as a venue to spread his hate.
By the way, This is an absolutely WONDERFUL movie!

wonderful movie! love love loved it! wilson cruz and jonathan bray are excellent in this movie! sally kirkland was hilarious too!

I thought this movie was entertaining and the cast was very good. It starts out with a blind date for this guy to meet a new girl but instead he ends up meeting a guy. A friendship begins to grow and has some very touching moments.

Not knowing what to expect when I purchased the DVD, I really enjoyed this film. Yes, it is light, fun and at times a little lacking in pacing. But, when it does catch fire it becomes a madcap comedy reminiscent of the Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart comedies of the forties. "Arsenic and Old Lace" and "Harvey" immediately comes to mind. It's definitely romantic - but not in the way one usually thinks of romantic films. You would never think of this film as low-budget. Not with the quality of writing, directing and acting. Love that Sally Kirkland! She's always perfect. The two male leads are perfectly cast and project a real caring for each other that goes beyond the usual sexual stereotypes. A believable connection between two human beings It really was wonderful to see this on the screen. I don't know how the director was able to snag the remaining cast as they also were absolutely perfect in their roles. SEE IT! See it for the fun of it. See it because it does not cop out and make fairy tale endings. And it does this with a very sensitive, realistic, and light comic touch. It can also make you feel a little wistful and sad but, at the same time, happy to see a dose of realism in what could have been a fairy tale ending. I am looking forward to more of these types of films. Coffee Date